California Here I am!!

Well all, it's been a fun summer already and I've only been in California for a week! I'm already tanner than I think I've ever been in my whole life (I mean, I barely even have color but still!)! I do have to say that it is really strange not being in Washington, and I do miss the Crestwood ward! It's just not the same without all of the familiar faces! I won't complain though because I do have a pool, exercise room and a "wow" car at my disposal (well kind of! :) )!

This upcoming week I

am going to be starting my job, grading and managing classes for my boss, as well as my prep for running a half marathon in September (with my dear friend Jen King! :) Jen is the one in the picture with me! We had almost EVERY class together this last year and will have many more to come!)! I'm going to start me

morizing cuts of meat soon to prepare for my food science class in the fall, and every week I find time to (STILL) write my missionary, Elder Blake Faulkner! (Yep, incase you weren't aware, that's him, he's the one on the left! Haha, Elder Freeman is on the right!)

A new found favorite of Kaitlyn's has become Golden Spoon! I am absolutely obsessed, as my roomies will inform you! I always get cake batter, and I love vanilla malt! YUMMY!! Speaking of my roomies! We had some good times the last few months of our semester! We made a few music videos but I'm going to share the one with all of the funny costumes! The rest our on my Facebook if you'd like to get a good laugh! This is us dancing to "Party in the U.S.A"

Lets see... an update on school... I passed all of my classes this last semester, and my lowest grade was an A-! I was extremely happy with the efforts I put in! I'm hoping to have that much success next year! Next year I am taking "Effective Parenting," "Food Science," "Educational Technology," and "Preschool Guidance!" It might not seem like a lot but Food Science is going to take over my life! At least two hours of reading every night! Oh boy! Good thing I don't have my boy here to distract me! :)

Another exciting thing that has happened in my life is the addition of my new niece Avielle

(Avey) Hope Shea! She's a cutie, and I was able to go and visit her before coming back to Cali with my parents! She's the one to the left! :) I love being an aunt so it's fun when I get to add to the 'count' on how many I have! So far... six girls (one on the way) and two boys!

My whole life I've never been a reader but it's my goal this summer to enjoy reading and to get better at it (meaning my speed) so that I can read all of the books that my heart desires! :) So far, I've read three books, and I've loved them all! If you have any suggestions let me know, I'm a diehard romantic! :)

Another new found love of mine is "The Vampire Diaries," yes I am "obsessed" with Vampires! I'm glad to report though that I have my own perfect mix of Edward, Stephan, Damon, and EVEN Jacob (even though he's not a vampire!)! His name, yep, you've guessed it... Blake! :)

Well, I better end this post! I've got lots to do... write Blake, read my book, haha---who knows what else, but I don't want to bore you all with anymore for today! Hope everyone enjoyed my randomness!

Aleigh's Response!

So I'm sitting wanting to write something on my blog and so I said, "Aleigh, what should I blog about?" She responded, "Um... I don't know, Blog about Blake." HA! I about died, I love how the thing that she thinks to tell me to blog about is Blake! I love it!

This week is the week of Valentine's Day! One of my favorite holidays, I'm not sure why though because I think that everyday should be a day to tell the person in your life that your committed to that you love them! I probably love it because there is so much pink! Ha! :) Well, this Valentine's Day I am happy to report will probably be my last EVER alone! Yay for 2011! Most of my roommates, friends, and family will be leaving me this weekend so Sophia and I will be having a blast together watching chick flicks, eating junk food (only 35 extra bonus points worth though), and enjoying each others company without our Valentines! Like I said, I'm glad it's my last year alone! :)

I wanted to take a little time and talk about how proud I am of Blake. Most people that read this already know it but I can't help but say it again! Blake has been on his mission for a little over a year and is loving every minute of it. Blake is the most excited missionary that I have ever seen, maybe because he's the only one I've ever written every week, but still he LOVES being on his mission! Even though missions aren't about numbers and statistics Blake is always setting a great example to his district (seeing as he's district leader now), and he loves having those 'high contact/investigator" numbers because it means he's sharing the gospel with more people! It's pretty darn awesome that Blake has already finished the first half of his mission but I'm so glad he has another year in Arizona to be able to share one of the most (if not the most) important things in this world. :)

Since last week I have decided that it is a curse and a blessing to not have class on Fridays. It's a blessing because I have the whole day to catch up on homework and maybe sleep in a little. It's a curse for the very same reason... because I know (during the week) that I HAVE Friday to do homework I tend to not get as much accomplished during the week as I would hope. This week, I am making a renewed effort to try and do my homework during the weekdays to be able to more fully enjoy my weekends!

Well speaking of homework... I should probably go and do something from my massive list of assignments! Hope everyone is having a great week!

Start of Something New!

I have been informed that if I start a blog that people will read it! Well, at least I know Kammie and Mom will. I think that I will enjoy pouring out my thoughts and feelings to the world, I just don't know if the world will be as thrilled about reading them! Ha! Lets get started shall we? Oh and before I begin, I am not a great speller and my grammar and punctuation are not that great, so you have been forewarned.

I've been at this new semester for four weeks and I already feel burnt out. It's crazy how the more you get into school the harder it gets. I mean the concept makes sense and I'm glad to be in the classes I am. Each day I wake up at 7:00 and start my day off with some exercise to jump start my energy... I do have to say by the time it hits 3:00 I pooped and think I should have sleep a little longer that morning! :) After working out I get ready, pack up my school stuff, read my scriptures, do any extra or forgotten homework, and talk to Aleigh while I'm at it. I start my classes on Monday, Wednesday at 10:00 and come home at 4:00. Now this may not sound too bad except in that time I only have two classes and work two hours! Lets just say, 2 hour classes sometimes take my energy away. Tuesday and Thursdays are a whole other story... Work, class (two other two hour classes) and home by 5:00.

This semester I'm in a Culinary Arts class, which I love, but it also can be really hard. Every Thursday I have to try and figure all of the bites (that we are required to take) of each meal prepared. Today I had; Baked Apples (Gala, Delicious, and Burnbarn (is that what they're called?), Apple Sauce (same type of apples), Coddled apples (same 3), Peach Cobbler, Apple Dumplings, Blueberry Coffee Cake, Cherries Jubilee, Cheery Crisp Pie, Poached Pears, Lemon Meringue , and a few that I can't even remember. Lets just say, I had a few points of B.L.T's (Bites, Licks and Tastes) today!

Oh and as a side note, I have now lost 22 pounds on Weight Watchers, and plan to keep dropping weight! What a shock it will be for Blake when he gets home!

I have to say though the BEST part of my day was receiving a letter from Blake! Probably one of my favorites he's ever sent. He is loving his mission, and I am loving waiting for him! I am proud to say that I will be able to add my name to the 3% of girls who actually wait! Now that I've rambled on I will end this blog, and hopefully find something more interesting to write about than my schedule! :)